In ecosystem science, we use this word to refer to the ability of an ecosystem or environment to return to a state of “equilibrium” when stressors are applied to it. For this reason, resilience represents what is being lost in the Arctic, this is a more sensitive and less “resilient” environment than most.
Resilience can be used in a more traditional sense to describe the adaptability of life in the Arctic and the relationship shared with the environment. The Inuit culture, for one, is a vibrant and colorful culture which has continued to persevere despite great historical pressures and a challenging climate. The wildlife and plantlife in the Arctic is also resilient, facing extreme atmospheric conditions.
Fisherman near the coast of Ilulissat, a key fishing hub in
Disko Bay that sustains local livelihoods and preserves regional culinary traditions. Greenland, 2024
Photography By Pamela EA
RESEARCH
Definition editing by Zahra Saifee
Research by Delphi Drake Mudede
Fact-checking by Hailey Basiouny
November 7, 2024
• Natural systems are resilient but their ability to cope with disturbances is degraded by the climate crisis’s worsening effects. Slower changing drivers such as land-use shifts and temperature rise can inch a system closer to its threshold, whereas shocks to a system such as natural disasters can push a system over.
• In the arctic we see a stressed system that’s nearing its threshold. The arctic’s resilience to change is reducing. Ocean acidification, rising ocean temperatures, and declining sea ice, caused by the global carbon emissions are changing the environment permanently25—multiple new Arctic extremes-heat waves, unique Arctic processes such as sea ice/storm interactions, permafrost melt, albedo shifts.26
